Steam joint



June 18, 1946. 1.. HORNB-OSTEL 2,402,224

STEAM JOINT Filed May 12, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 LL 0V0 f/oelvaosrzsz.

June 18, 1946. HORNBOSTEL 2,402,224 STEAM JOINT Filed May 12, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet June 18, 1946. L. HORNBOSTEL STEAM JOINT Filed May 12, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 Patented June 18, 1946 s-ram m Lloyd Hornbostel, Beloit, Wls., assignor to Belolt Iron Works, Beloit, Win, a corporation of Wisconsln Application May 12, 1944; Serial No. s ss,244

This invention relates to a steam joint or fluid flow packing joint for'rotatable drums and the like. The present improvements are especially 8 Claims. (01. 285-10) adapted for use in connection with the rotatable drier drum of a paper making machine.

It will be understood, however, that the invention may be installed upon other types of drum structures.

The drier drum of a paper making machine is generally steam heated and rotates when operating. The steam for heating the drum is usually ing through the hollow back or rear trunnion of the drum, and the condensate is drained from the drum through an outlet pipe that is usually telescoped by the feed pipe. ranged to rotate with the drum a stationary housing or coupling must be provided for connecting the pipes respectivelywith the source for supplying steam to the drum and with the drai or suction source which removes the condensate.

To prevent leakage between the rotating pipes and the stationary coupling, seals must be provided but these seals should not interfere with free flow of steam and condensate nor should they impart appreciable friction due to rubbing between rotating and stationary parts.

Heretofore, in order to inspect or repair the sealing means of adrier drum steam joint it has been necessary to stop the entire papermachine since the drier drum had to be stationary to allow access to the interior of the housing or coupling. In addition the seals obstructed free flow of fluid and imparted material frictional resistance to ro- If these pipes are ar-' the principal objects of this inven- 2 viding a steam joint for drier drums wherein the outlet or condensate pipe extends through a housing or coupling to be received in a chambered cap that is demountable from the housing and carries parts of a separable sealing assembly to prevent leakage of the condensate being drained from the drum.

Another principal object hereof is to provide a steam joint comprising an assembly that is demountably carried upon a fixed support to receive both rotatable inlet and outlet pipes'and to effect a seal between said pipes.

A still further object of this invention resides in providing a steam joint wherein provision is made for a sealed connection between the interior of the housing or coupling and the steam feed pipe that enters the drum, said housing or coupling being arranged to be bodily removed with T the attached portions of the sealing means in a or fluid flow packing jointsfor rotatable drums and to improvethe efliciency, operation and dependability of suchjoints. f Y

It is another principal object to provide an assembl wherein a pipe coupling is mounted in fixed relation to a rotatable drum and has sealing means associated therewith with certain parts thereofca'rried by the. coupling housing for removal when the housing is demounted.

- Another principal object thereof resides in prodirection longitudinally of the axis of the pipe without stopping rotation 01 the drum and the pipes.

It is also an object hereof to provide a steam joint arranged to permit passage of the outlet or drain pipe through it to discharge the condensate into a cap removably closing the outer portion of the housing, said cap carrying portions of a separable seal assembly that is interposed between the cap and the outlet pipe. The arrangement permits removalof the cap to effect the demounting of the housing or coupling member.

It is alsoan object to provide a fluid flow packing joint for rotatable drums wherein separable chambered housings are provided with individual seals that independently connect the chambers with rotatable inlet andoutlet conduits and are arranged'to be replaced without stopping rotation of the drum and conduits.

A further object is to provide a steam jointfor rotatable devices equipped with a balanced seal of the sliding face engagement type which is arranged so that the face pressure between the sliding parts is'proportional to steam pressure.

Additional objects, aims and advantages of the invention contemplated herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after the construction and operation of the steam joint is understood fromthe within description.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a drier drum and the rear or back end bearing structure thereof with the improved Steam joint assembled therewith;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken longitudinally of the axis of the structure showing details of the steam joint contemplated herein;

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure2 showing the parts in exploded positions to illustrate the manner of demounting and removing in, and in these drawings like reference characters identify the same part in the different views.

In Figure 1, the numeral l0 identifies the rotatable drum, preferably the drier drum of. a paper making machine, having a rear or back end trunnion I I that is journalled in a bearing I2 mounted in an annular support I3 at the upper end of a pedestal I4. A large gear I5 is secured to the trunnion I I for rotating the drum. The outer portion of thebearing I2 is provided with an annular flange I6 to which a bearing end cap I! is anchored by means of bolts or the like. As seen in Figure 2, the bearing cap I! is hollow and its outer end wall is provided with an opening l8 to receive the adjacent end of the trunnion II that passes through the bearing cap I1. An annular flange IQ of cylindrical shape projects outwardly from the end wall of the cap I! around the opening I8.

A dust guard is secured by bolts 2| to the transverse end face of the trunnion II and has a cylindrical flange 22 projecting towards the bearing cap I! outside and surrounding the flange I9 of the end cap I! in the manner shown in detail in Figur 2.

The drum I0 is charged with live steam through an inlet or feed pipe 23 that extends through the hollow trunnion l I and is arranged with its inner end inside the drum. The outer end of the steam feed pipe 23 has an annular flange 24 that is fitted into and secured in a shouldered portion 25 of the -bore of the trunnion II. The pipe 23 is provided with exterior threads 26 at its outer end.

\A hollow neck member 21 has a. portion of its bore threaded-and screwed upon the threaded end portion 26 of the steam feed pipe 23. The portion of the bore in the neck 21 that is remote to the pipe 23 is provided with a spider 28, the central hollow hub 29 of which surrounds and has the outlet pipe 30 secured to it. This outlet pipe 30 is telescoped by the steam feed pipe 23 and its inner end extends into the drum In for the purpose of removing condensate therefrom. The outer end of this pipe projects a considerable distance beyond the end of th steam feed pipe 23 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The bearing end cap I! is provided with a bracket 3| the outer end of which is provided with a down-turned flange 32 to receive the mounting flange 33 at the lower portion of the flat rear wall of a housing or coupling member designated generally by the numeral 34. The housing or coupling member 34 is demountably anchored to the flange 32 by bolts and nuts 35, and shims 35 are interposed between the bracket flange 32 and the housing flange 33 to properly space and position the flat face of the housing or coupling with respect to the outer face of the neck member 21 on the feed pipe 23 The housing .34 has a cylindrical chamber portion 31 that is disposed in axial alignment with the pipes 23 and 30, and an access opening 31a is made in a side wall of this chamber that is closed by a removable plate 31b secured in place by bolts or otherwise. There is an opening 38 in th fiat wall of the housing above the mounting flange 33, which opening13 8-is at th inner end of the cylindrical chamber portion 31 and is aligned with the pipes 23 and 30. The opening 38 is part of a conduit, later to be described, that establishes communication between the chamber portion 37 of the housing and the feed pipe 23. A steam inlet stub 39 projects upwardly from the cylindrical chamber 31 and has a portion of its bore threaded to receive the threaded end of a pipe 40 that leads to any suitable source of steam pp y.

The outer end portion of the cylindrical chamber 31 is open and the end of its wall is shouldered as at 4| to receive the adjacent portion of a closure cap 42 that has an annular groove 33 into which the shouldered portion 4| is fitted. The proximate portions of the cap and the housing are provided with a plurality of lugs or cars 44 and 45 through which bolts 46 are passed to clamp the parts together.

The cap 42 is hollow to provide an internal chamber 41 and its lower portion is provided with an outlet or drain opening 48 that is threaded to receive the threaded portion of a suction pipe or drain pipe 49 that is screwed thereinto. The wall 50 of the cap which is next to the housing or coupling 34 is preferably flat and it is provided with a central opening 5| into which the adjacent end of the "drain pipe Or outlet pipe 30 projects in the manner shown in Figure 2. There is suflicient clearance between the pipe 30 and the wall of the aperture 5| to permit the pipe to rotate free of the cap wall 50. I

. Sealing means are provided between the end portion of outlet pipe 30 and the cap 42 to prevent escape of steam out of the cylindrical housing chamber 31 through the clearance between the pipe and cap wall 50. The pipe 30 is slightly reduced and threaded as at 52 to receive the hub portion 53 of a seal supporting disk 54. The hub 53 is provided with spaced opposed ears 55 between which is positioned a rectangular key block 56 held in place by means of a clamping bolt 51 that passes through said block and the cars '55. One of the edges of the key block 56 is seated in a key-way 58 cut longitudinally in the pipe through the threads 52,'thu locking the seal supporting disk 50 on the pipe to prevent movement thereof independent of the pipe 30 while permitting the disk 54 to rotate with said pipe. The outer face of the disk 54 is provided with a depression or recess 59 to seat the seal ring 60 that is preferably a carbon block of annular form. The depression or recess 59 of the disk 54 is provided with an irregular or circuitous channel 6| that provides a means for distributing lubrication upon the relatively movable parts.

The seal ring block 60 is opposed on its side opposite the disk 54 by a backing plate or follower 62 freely surrounding the adjacent portion of the-pipe 30. The follower or backing plate 62 is yieldably urged toward the seal ring 60 by means of a plurality of coiled springs 63 that are interposed between the follower plate 62 and the flat wall 50 of the cap member 42. The disk 54 acts as an abutment toward and against which the parts are pressed in effecting the seal.

A yieldabl'e bellows 64 surrounding the pipe 30 also is interposed between the fiat wall 50 of the cap and the backing plate or follower 62. This bellows 64 is open at both ends to accommodate the pipe 30 therethrough. The outer end of the bellows is securely anchored in place against the cap fiat wall 50 by a split clamping ring 65 that is held in place by bolts 66 inserted therethrough and screwed into threaded recesses in the cap wall 5ll. The other end of bellows B4 is firmly held against the follower plate 62 by a split clamping ring 61 that is anchored in place by bolts 6141 that pass through the clamp ring and are screwed into the backing plate or follower 62. As seen in Figure 2, the clamp rings are provided with recesses or apertures 68 and 69 respectively that are arranged in aligned pairs and provide seats or sockets for the adjacent ends of the springs 63 that urge the backing plate or follower 62 toward the seal ring 60. The clamping rings 65 and 61 being of the split type facilitate ready assembly with the respective ends of the bellows 64.

The arrangement above described provides a dependable seal between the stationary cap 42 and the rotatable outlet pipe 30 and it effectively prevents escape of steam from the chamber 31 of the housing through opening 5| into the chamber 41 of the cap. Also, as shown in Figure 3,

the cap 42 may be readily demounted from the housing 34 while the outlet pipe 30 is rotating with the drum merely by removing the bolts 46 that clamp the cap 42 to the housing 34. The bellows 64 together with the backing plate or follower 62 which comprise the portion of the sealin assembly mounted on the cap wall 50 are arranged in telescopic relation to the pipe 30 and are taken out when the cap 42 is de- 'mounted from the housing 34'by moving the cap of the neck piece as shown in Figure 2 and said ring is opposed by a backing plate or follower ring 13. This follower ring 13 is urged toward the seal ring 12 by a plurality of coil springs 14 seated around studs 15 projecting from the follower ring 13, the other ends of the springs 14 pressing against the flat wall of the housing or coupling 34. One end of a bellow I6 is firmly held against the fiat wall 39 by a split clamping ring ll that is secured in position by bolts 18 that pass through the ring and are threaded into the flat wall of the housing. The other end of the bellows is securely attached to the backing ring or follower 13 by a split clamping ring 19 that is anchored in place by bolts8ll that pass through the clamping ring 1'9 and are threaded into the backing ring or follower 1.3.

An irregularly shaped channel or groove Bl best shown in Figure 4 i formed in the face of 6 the backing ring or follower 13 that opposes the seal ring 12. The upper portion of this channel communicates with an oil well 32 that opens to the upper segment of the follower ring 13 and is closed by a plug 33. Oil from the groove 3| will impregnate the carbon seal The shims 36 which are interposed between the flange 33 of the housing 34 and the bracket flange 32 are adapted to position the housing flat wall in proper relationship and correctly spaced or seal disk 34 thereon. The internal diameter of the backing ring or follower 13 and the sealing ring 12 are sufficiently larger than the diameter of the sealing disk 54 to permit withdrawal of these parts when the housing is being dismounted and removed.

The opening 38 in the flat wall of the housing, together with the bellows 1B, the follower ring .13, the seal ring, 12 of the bore of the neck member 21 provide the walls of a conduit or passageway that establishes communication between the cylindrical chamber 3i of the housing 34 and the outer end of the inlet pipe 23. This conduit or passageway is closed, being sealed againstthe escape of-steam to the atmosphere by the seal assembly that is interposed between the neck member 21 and the housing flat wall and being further sealed against escape of steam to the drain pipe 49 by the seal assembly interposed between disk 54 and wall 50 of the cap 42.

The seal arrangement permits rotation of the pipes 23 and 30 with the drum III while the housing 34 and its cap 42 will remain in fixed position. The carbon seal ring 12 has tapered active faces 12a and 121) as shown in Figure 5 so that these faces will quickly wear into good sealing engagement with the disk face of the neck 21 and the face of the follower ring 13 even though the parts be misaligned. Thus initial ring line contacts will be established between the carbon faces and its cooperating face parts and these lines will soon wear into substantial area contacts.

As steam pressure in the housing 35 increases which is carried thereby may be readily removed in a longitudinally axial direction merely by removing the bolts 46 which clamp the cap to the housing 34 and then moving the cap and its assembled seal parts longitudinally out of their operating position. After this has been done the housing 34 may be demounted from the bracket 3] and when being removed it will carry with it the portions of the sealing assembly that are mounted on said housing 34. The arrangement provides a fluid flow packing or steam joint having separable chambers each having its individual 7 seal between it and a respective rotatable fluid conduit, whereby the seals together with the chambers may be demounted while the conduits continue their rotative movement and without stopping the operation of the machine upon which this arrangement is installed.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and itis, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as follows:

1. A fluid flow packing joint for rotatable drier drums and the like having telescopedv inlet and outlet pipes rotatable with the drum and extending through a rotatable trunnion and bearing thereof, which comprises a housing supported in stationary demountable relation to the trunnion bearing, a-second housing removably supported by the stationary housing, a conduit connected with each housing-each housing having a chamher, a seal including a bellows connecting the chamber of the first housing with the inlet pipe, and another seal including a bellows connecting the chamber of the second housing with the outlet pipe, said seals each being'arranged separately for replacement upon disconnection of its associated housing from the support of that housing without stopping rotation of the drum and pipes.

2. A steam joint for a rotatable drum having in telescopic relation to the inner pipe and 4 adapted for bodily removal respectively with said 8 of the outer pipe, the casing having an open ended passageway through which the inner pipe freely projects, a removable hollow apertured cap freely receiving the projecting portion of the inner pipe, said cap closing the adjacent end of the casing passageway and being detachably' mounted on said casing, opposing separable means carried respectively by the outer pipe and the casing to seal the space therebetween and establish communication between the casingpassageway and the outer pipe, and opposing separable devices effecting a. seal between th inner pipe,

and the removable cap, one of said devices carried by the inner pipe and another of said devices carried by and removable with said cap.

5. A steam joint for a rotatable drum having telescoped rotatable inlet and outlet pipes extending through a rotatable hollow trunnion thereof and having a fixed bearing for the trunnion, comprising a removable hollow casing supported by the fixed bearing having an open ended chamber one end of which is adapted for combellows being carried by said casing around the housing and cap in a direction longitudinally of the inner pipe.

3. A steam joint for a rotatable drum having telescoped rotatable inner and outer pipes leading thereinto and a trunnion bearing having a stationary end member, comprising a stationary housing demountably carried by the bearing end member and having an open ended chamber receiving the inner pipe through an end thereof, a chambered cap receiving the end of the inner pipe and removably mounted on the housing to close the other end of the housing chamber, said inner pipe rotating out of contact with said housing and cap, and seals individually supported by said housing and cap for independently connecting the chambers of the housing and cap with the respective outer and inner rotatable pipes, said seals each including annular bellows members disposed in telescopic relation to th inner pipe and adapted to be separately removed with said housing and cap.

4. A steam joint for a drum having a rotatable hollow trunnion and a fixed bearing therefor, comprising telescoped pipes disposed in the trunnion to rotate therewith, said pipes defining an outer feed passage and an inner discharge passage communicating at their inner ends with the drum, a hollow casing removably carried by the fixed bearing in spaced relation to the outer end end of the chamber that communicates with said feed pipe and being adapted for removal integrally with said casing, an annular stop carried by the outlet pipe Within the casing chamber adjacent the hollow cap, a seal ring opposing said stop, and a bellows around said outlet pipe between the stop thereon and the cap for closing the space therebetween, said bellows being carried by said cap for removal integrally therewith from said casing.

6. A steam joint for a drum having a rotatable hollow trunnion and a fixed bearing for said trunnion, comprising a steam feed pipe rotatable with and extending into the trunnion to supply steam to the drum, a removable hollow casing supported by the fixed bearing having a passageway that is open at its ends, one end of said passageway communicating with said feed pipe, a removable hollow cap detachably supported on the casing closing the other epon end of the easing passageway, means for supplying steam to the casing passageway, a fluid removal conduit within and rotatable with said feed pipe, the inner end of said conduit extended into the drum and the other end extended freely through the easing passageway and discharging into said cap, an annular flange carried by and rotatable with said feed pipe adjacent said casing, a seal ring opposing said flange, a bellows between said seal ring and casing for closing the space therebetween, said bellows being carried by said, casing around the end of the passageway that communicates with said feed pipe for removal with said casing, an annular stop carried by said conduit in the casing passageway adjacent the hollow cap, a seal ring opposing said stop, and a bellows around said conduit between the stop thereon and the cap for closing the space therebetween, said bellows being carried by said cap for removal therewith from said casing,

7. A steam joint for rotatable drums and the like having telescoped inlet and outlet pipes extending through a rotatable hollow trunnion thereof and a fixed bearing member for said flange carried by and rotatable with the inlet pipe adjacent said housing, a seal ring opposing said flange, a bellows between said seal ring and housing for closing the space therebetween, said bellows being carried by said housing around the open end of the chamber adjacent the inlet pipe and adapted for removal with said housing, and a seal connecting the cap chamber to the rotatable outlet pipe comprising an annular stop carried by the outlet pipe in the housing chamber adjacent the cap, a seal ring opposing said stop, and a bellows around said outlet pipe between the stop thereon and the cap for closing the space therebetween, said bellows being carried by said cap for removal therewith from said housing.

8. A fluid now joint for a rotatable drum bearing assembly having a rotatable trunnion extend- 10 ing beyond a stationary bearing therefor and having telescoped rotatable conduits extending from the rotatable drum trunnion, comprising a stationary housing having an open-ended chamber receiving the inner conduit freely through one end thereof, a fluid pipe connected with said housing in communication with said chamber,

.means for detachably supporting said housing on said bearing at a fixed distance from the end of said outer conduit, a hollow cap detachably mounted at the other end of said housing for closing the latter end, a fluid pipe connected with said cap, the inner conduit rotating free of said cap. a sealing member carried by the inner conduit freely within said chamber, a sealing ring contacting said member, means including a bellows supported on said cap yieldably pressing said ring against said member arranged for establishing sealedcommunication between said inner conduit through the cap to the pipe connected thereto, a second sealing ring having sealing contact with said outer conduit, and means including a bellows supported on said housing yieldingly establishing with said second ring a sealed communication from the outer conduit through said chamber to the pipe connected therewith.

' LLOYD HORNBOSTEL. 

